Dolly Parton is in love, and she’s found her mountaintop. Ripe with stripped-down tunes of devotion marked by her unmistakable twang and charm, her 43rd studio album, Pure and Simple, marks a country legend honoring the genre’s roots while still leaving room to get characteristically playful.

The release hinges on professions of lifelong love—and with a 50-year marriage to Carl Dean under her belt, she's singing from experience. Songs like the title track, “Head over High Heels,” and “Outside Your Door” are presented with the sort of sincerity usually saved for teen romances and texts peppered with heart-eye emojis. From the prolific “I Will Always Love You” singer, we’ve come to expect nothing less.

We caught up with Parton between stops on her first full North American tour in 25 years, where she offered advice on how to heed the album’s namesake and opened up about the importance of love and equality for all.

Vanity Fair: Where in the world are you calling from? I know you’re on the road right now.

Dolly Parton: I am in Kansas City, Missouri, right now, so we’ve got a show here tomorrow night. We played Denver last night at Red Rocks [Amphitheatre], which was an amazing show, so we had a good time with that. We’re out here on tour from June through December and we’re just having the best time.

How do you stay so energized and healthy with such a rigorous touring schedule?

Well, it’s planned out very well. We only work about 10 days or two weeks, and then we’re off for a couple weeks. And then we go back. It gives us time to do other things. And I love work. That’s very energizing—that energy and love from the fans.

Pure and Simple is largely love songs inspired by your longtime husband, Carl. Do you have a secret to making a marriage last?

Yeah, stay gone! We’ve been married for 50 years and I’ve been gone for about 47 of those. But the truth is, we’ve always been very compatible. To those that follow the signs, I’m a Capricorn and he’s Cancer, and those are very compatible signs. But we’ve always had a good time together, and he’s got a great sense of humor and so do I. And he loves staying home and I love staying gone, so it’s worked out really well.

__Over the last 50 years, has your definition of love changed? __

Well, it’s just grown deeper. The longer you live with somebody, the more you know them, and you take on all their traits as well as them taking all of yours. And you just have a deeper and better understanding—more of an appreciation. But we’ve always had a great respect for each other, and I think that’s been the thing that really and truly sustained us through the years.

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__One of my favorite songs is “I’m Sixteen.” I love the line that goes, “You’re never old unless you choose to be.” Is that a mantra of yours? __

Yes, it is! [laughs] Specifically, I kind of patterned that after one of my sisters that had had a couple of really bad marriages, brokenhearted, and felt she’d never love again and felt it just wasn’t meant to be. But she found someone! And they both had had broken marriages. And they’re just like little teenagers and I just get such a kick out of watching them. I thought, “God, they think they’re 16!” And so that’s really where I got the idea of writing that song. But that is my philosophy, too. It goes to show you’re never old unless you choose to be, and I will be 16 forever, just as long as you love me.

__Your second autobiographical film with NBC, Christmas of Many Colors: A Circle of Love, is scheduled to premiere later this year. How many of these films do you plan on making? __

I was only going to do the one movie of “Coat of Many Colors” that’d be the theme of that song, ’cause I was going to base it on some of those stories of mine. But that one got such huge ratings and was such a favorite that we got a Christmas movie, and we’re thinking now since people are responding so favorably to the faith-based, family-oriented shows again, that we might even do a series based on my early life.

That would be something you’re involved in behind the scenes, as well?

Oh, absolutely! These are all my stories and I’m executive producer on any and all of these things. I have my own production company now. I work with Sam Haskell of Magnolia Hill Productions. He’s been a friend of mine—was my agent for 18 years, and we decided to get into the TV business together, and it’s working out really well for us. But, yeah, I’m hands-on with anything like that, especially if it’s got to do with my life and my stories and my songs.

And you can’t beat Jennifer Nettles, really. Who are some of your favorite female country vocalists today?

Well, there are many, many great ones. And Jennifer has, since day one, been one of my favorite vocalists. When she was in Sugarland, I just thought, “Man, these are some of the best records and some of the best singing I’ve ever heard.” And who knew she was such a great actress? She could really have a career as an actress if she wanted it, if she were to go that route. She’s such a great gal and such a wonderful singer. But I love Carrie Underwood. I loved Taylor Swift. I think what Taylor’s done has been amazing with bridging that gap, especially being a great model for younger kids and getting younger people involved and interested in country music. She’s a real favorite. But I love Miranda Lambert. I relate to her, I think, as much as anybody because we’re very similar in the kind of taste we have in music and that rawness. There’s just some kind of a rawness about her music that I relate to. And, of course, I’ve always loved Alison Krauss.

__You’ve had a long-standing appeal within the L.G.B.T. community. With the current climate, what role does L.G.B.T. equality play in who you would want as president come November? __

I think we always have to have someone that can love, respect, and appreciate everyone for who they are. God made us all and made us all different and made us all special and we have a right to be true to ourselves. Whoever said that wonderful thing, “To thine own self be true,” there’s never a truer statement. Because if you try to be something different than who you are, you’re never going to be happy. I think it’s up to us, especially as good people, especially as Christian people (those of us that claim to be)—we’re supposed to be accepting and loving. I think God is the judge of all of us. I think he made us all and he loves us all. And I think in this government, too, all men are created equal. And I think “men” just represents humanity, not just the word “man.” I think that means women and kids and everyone else. So I think that no matter who you are, whatever your religion, whatever your sexual orientation, whatever your, you know, whatever! You should be treated with respect and allowed to be an individual and be who are you.

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Certainly. It’s unfortunate to see some of the rhetoric coming out of the right. Mike Pence doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to gay rights.

Like I say, there were some rumors surrounding the fact that I was endorsing Hillary [Clinton], that I was endorsing [Donald] Trump. Well, I haven’t endorsed either one of them. I just hope whoever gets in the White House can see us all and respect us all and treat us all as people, not just being for themselves—whether it’s a woman or a man.

__Time will tell to that end. When the going gets tough and when the world seems like everything’s not so “pure and simple,” do you have any tips to get in the right mind-set and to stay optimistic? __

I think people should kind of just rely on their faith. I think we’re too scattered and we’re all so caught up in all this social media, all these crazy movies and all. And I’m all for progress, but I think people are forgetting to hone in on themselves and hone in on all those elementals within their own body and their own mind and in their own soul, and kind of anchor themselves to something they believe in. I happen to believe in God and that through God, all things are possible. So every day, I have my little spiritual time for myself to just anchor myself. And even if you’re not religious, there’s always something you do to make wishes and dreams. Don’t get so caught up in so much stuff, and every day, try to anchor your own personal self and to remember who you are.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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THE REBELS: SHELBY LYNNE, WILLIE NELSON, AND SHOOTER JENNINGS Singers, songwriters, musicians, truth tellers.Lynne: 10 albums; one Grammy. Nelson: more than 300 albums (seven multi-platinum, 11 platinum, seven gold); six Grammys; one Grammy Legend award; one Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. Jennings: two albums. Misfits, rough around the edges, irreverent in their different ways, they were never destined for “the Nashville sound”—what guitarist Chet Atkins once described (while jangling change in his pocket) as “the sound of money.” Forty years ago, Nelson’s loving wisdom cut through political leanings and class; hippies and rednecks flocked to him in equal numbers. Now he is a national treasure who performs some 200 shows a year. Son of original outlaw Waylon Jennings, Shooter has brought manly, barroom energy back to country—not to mention a little fun. He infuses his southern-rock sound with old-school outlaw-country storytelling—you know, songs about ditching your girl at the waffle restaurant, hitting on her mom, and shooting her dog along the way. For 10 years Lynne sweated it out in Nashville, until she won the Best New Artist Grammy in 2000 for I Am Shelby Lynne—delivered by what Tammy Wynette called “the best voice in country music.” She’s tender, but get too personal and she might bite your head off between beers. Photographed by Mark Seliger at Universal Studios in Universal City, California, on February 9, 2006.